What Tactics Did the Ancient Chinese Use?

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Are you a resourceful strategist like Zhuge Liang, a fearless warrior like Lu Bu, or a wise ruler like Liu Bei? Step into the captivating world of the Three Kingdoms Period and immerse yourself in an epic journey through Infinite Borders! Don’t forget to take the test to find out what your personality aligns with in the Three Kingdoms! Test Link: act.neteasegames.com/activity...
Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series on the history of China continues with an episode on the tactics, tricks and stratagems used during the Three Kingdoms Period and described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Sanguozhi, including the Empty Fort, borrowing arrows from straw boats, kill with a Borrowed Sword and the beauty of women.
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The script was written by Dimitris Koutsoumis, while the video was made by Yağız Bozan and Murat Can Yağbasan and was narrated by Officially Devin ( / @offydgg & kzbin.info/door/79s....
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#Documentary #ThreeKingdoms #chinesehistory

[@KingsandGenerals]

Download Infinite Borders: g10naad.onelink.me/PEOm/tpd9ykpk Take the Three Kingdoms Personality Test: act.neteasegames.com/activity/3sEWai?lang=en

[@omshah8529]

The next time you see an empty fort on the outside,there are probably enemy troops in the inside or nearby areas of the fort,so keep in mind this -A tip from Kings and Generals probably

[@OldParkdongbei]

Boring game promotion video, nothing of value. By the way,Alexander the Great couldn't win against the Qin army.

[@OldParkdongbei]

Boring game promotion video. BTW，Alexander the Great couldn't win against the Qin army.

[@OldParkdongbei]

Boring game promotion video, nothing of value. The tactics and strategies used by the ancient Chinese were very complex and subtle. Even Alexander the Great couldn't win against the Qin army.

[@Twigs1836]

"Kings and Generals are ultimately humans" He said the line!

[@shinsenshogun900]

Roll credits!

[@vitorpereira9515]

I didn't follow.

[@dstovell]

I did a double take when I heard that line 🤩

[@bibekjung7404]

KAABER. ::-. ALMIGHTY. -:-. GOD. ::-. ❤:❤

[@zacharydurocher4085]

“You’re too late. We are the Kings and Generals now.”

[@QuasarSniffer]

That "Borrowing Arrows With Straw Boats" strategy is some straight-up Bart Simpson shenanigans and I love it.

[@glen7k621]

It's fictional.

[@GAarcher]

*archer class is really made out of archers!*

[@shinsenshogun900]

@@glen7k621 Sun Quan verifiably got to do it best

[@andrewsuryali8540]

​​@@glen7k621It isn't, and that's the sad part. The fictional part is the attribution to Zhuge Liang. The borrowing arrows stratagem was something actually done by a not-so-famous warlord during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, but at a much smaller scale (nothing like 100k arrows). This historical event was then fictionally attributed to various more famous people in novels and plays. Interestingly, in the 3K setting, it was first attributed to Sun Quan, not Zhuge Liang. Luo Guanzhong then switched out Sun Quan for his favorite character and that's the version that stuck. Similarly, the real-life inspiration for Zhuge Liang's empty city stratagem was something a Tang general did during the An Lushan rebellion when An Lushan himself appeared to siege the city he was defending. However, IRL this didn't end that well for him. Although he managed to trick the rebels into retreating the first time, he then used the time he bought to fortify the city and hold it against their second attack, and this one resulted in a long siege that wiped out most of the city's population through starvation. The Battle of Red Cliffs itself (the version in Romance) was inspired by a real battle in the Yangtze between the rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang (founder of the Ming Dynasty) against another rebel warlord. The depiction of fortress ships, tying ships together with chains, and the fire ships that ended the battle all came from this real Yuan-era battle. Romance was written in the Yuan-Ming transition, so the author had plenty of real historical events between the actual 3K era and his own to borrow from.

[@SeanHiruki]

It happened. It’s just that Kongming didn’t do it. Zhuo Yu did

[@crazyviking24]

I would have added Sima Yi's pretending to be crippled in an attempt to avoid having to serve as an advisor etc for Cao Cao and then later pretending to have dementia in order to get his rival regent to let his guard down.

[@kroduk2400]

ssuma I tricking kuan yu :(

[@jamiemartin1434]

I think his wife killing a woman in order to keep the cripple act up is probably why she's became playable in Dynasty Warriors if not the scary woman she is in it.

[@crazyviking24]

@@jamiemartin1434 I was unaware of that story.

[@kroduk2400]

@@jamiemartin1434 Dang I need to try the newer dynasty warrior hvn't played one since the PS-3 era PS: avoid the C.H Brewitt-Taylor translation if u plan on reading the book

[@jamiemartin1434]

@@kroduk2400 You probably gonna want number eight more than number nine I mean I like nine but I have autism and most people complain about it way more than number eight . They we're not the best act informant in open world in dynasty warriors. Also in a tongue and cheek way.They basically The community said they were going to make the dynasty warriors Company says they are going to announce 10 this year near end of Last year.

[@roihanfadhil2879]

"If anyone want to see the implementation of my strategy, read romance of the three kingdoms and watch Kings & Generals videos." - Sun Tzu, the Art of War.

[@davidtierney3615]

Cringe 😂

[@shinsenshogun900]

Sunzi would rather become Confucian than advertise his state military thought manual

[@roihanfadhil2879]

​​​​@@shinsenshogun900No, probably Sun prefer being Daoist because both they are come from the same clan, namely 'Tzu' 😂😂.

[@zhouwu9997]

"I didn't say that" -Sun Tzu, the Art of War.

[@tc4303]

@@roihanfadhil2879Going with that logic, Confucius would’ve been Kon Tzu since that’s how you say Confucius in Mandarin, but in the end “Tzu” is really just a title given to those famous philosophers anyway

[@disappearingone11]

One of Cao Cao's stratagems (probably apocryphal) that always struck with me for both its efficacy and cruelty is when he's besieging Yuan Shu's city of Shouchun and his army is running short on supplies. Cao Cao's subordinate in charge of distributing grain, Wang Hou, brings this to Cao's attention, to which Cao Cao replies, "Serve out with a smaller measure. I shall have another device in the future." Wang Hou does so, and predicably, Cao Cao's army begins to complain. When the situation becomes critical, Cao Cao summons Wang Hou and says, "I have a means of pacifying the army, but I need to borrow something from you." Wang Hou asks what this is, and Cao Cao replies, "I need to borrow your head to appease the soldiers." Wang Hou protests that he's done nothing wrong, to which Cao Cao says, "I know, but if I don't execute you, the army will mutiny. Don't worry, your wife and children will be in my care after your death." He then has Wang Hou publicly beheaded and places the blame for the grain shortage on him, mollifying the troops and encouraging them to fight harder. Shouchun falls to Cao Cao shortly afterwards.

[@yacine778]

9:10 "borrowing" the enemy arrows, then returning them to'em 😅

[@vitorpereira9515]

Zhuge Liang also used fire against armies. He used againt Cao Cao armies.

[@yigon5412]

this was made up by luo guanzhong. It didnt actually happen.

[@user-vo6iz7gh2f]

That guy was genious.

[@user-gw4kl8ft9u]

​​@@yigon5412 🤓 and wrong. Luo Guanzhong didn't make it up. The story was originally a folk tale with no historical evidence. Luo Guanzhong simply collected it into his novel and attributed it to Zhuge Liang instead of Zhou Yu to make their rivalry more fun.

[@bfdiepictennisballbfdi2359]

I am sincerely appaled that no one ever tried to make a time period called 3^2 Kingdoms, imagine the possibilities

[@juncheok8579]

The war of the eight princes of jin is quite close

[@shinsenshogun900]

Sixteen Kingdoms comes to some cultured minds of civil war erudites

[@TOTCTY]

Well, there was 8 princes, 16 kingdoms, and 10 kingdoms

[@bfdiepictennisballbfdi2359]

@@TOTCTY 26 Kingdoms?

[@bfdiepictennisballbfdi2359]

@@juncheok8579 Very close indeed

[@umjackd]

Just wanted to comment to say that the art for this video was exceptionally beautiful. Hats off to your artists and animators.

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

Mengzi once wrote: "If someone stops where they should not, they’ll stop anywhere. If someone slights a person they should treat generously, they’ll slight anyone. And if someone races ahead, they retreat in a hurry"

[@tsarzamancorpdna]

Zhuge liang: imma about to ruin this man's whole career Repeat for 30 years

[@bvbxiong5791]

Zhuge Liang is given credit for alot of stuff that other generals accomplished IRL. I do believe he was a badass, but not 200IQ badass. There is one account in history and in the fictionalized book that I'm glad they included that showed he wasn't 200IQ all the time. He failed to conquer a fortified city called Chencang commanded by a general named Hao Zhao and had to withdraw. Zhuge Liang tried a number of tactics but Hao Zhao countered them all.

[@msuomtv]

Admittedly I haven't read too much about the period, but the more I read the less I think about people like Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei and the more I think of people like Wei Yan.

[@yeeyee5057]

Zhuge Liang was not as good of a military strategist as his rival Sima Yi, but he was a statesman without equal and the main reason Shu for a time, could afford to launch several attacks on the larger and stronger Wei.

[@paulchen4447]

@@bvbxiong5791 there was a limit to what they could do no matter what. Fortified cities in China are no joke, most of the most decisive sieges revolved tricking the enemy to sally out and engage because the sieging force showed signs of weakness, or they just try to piss off the defenders and make them come out. When it doesn't work, they siege the city for months non stop and it becomes a matter of whether the provincial leader surrenders to keep their position instead of losing everything or they remain loyal and it comes down to whether the king can come save the besieged city. a lot of ways Sima Yi used to fend off Zhuge Liang came down to literally just making sure there are no weaknesses in our army, hold our position until they run out of supplies, and punish them if they make a blunder. Most of the time Zhuge Liang had less time to waste so it almost always forced him to commit to a risky battle, and of course, leads to Sima Yi winning it easier.

[@JohnDoe-ug3su]

For 36 stratagem, you gotta mention the Mongol army favorite "make them believe there is a path out"

[@426mak]

My favorite is the first stratagem "run".

[@JohnDoe-ug3su]

@@426mak not the first, that's the best.

[@danielcohn-bendit701]

Or my favorite: the false retreat. The Crusaders were particularly gullible to that one!

[@me0101001000]

@@426mak "when they approach us, we run away"

[@Itskal3]

During the Three Kingdom period, Chinese generals were each commanding armies with 100K+ men. The entire Roman Empire was only 160k.

[@Panicscroll69]

Yes, and today made in china also means low quality.

[@rahmatbagusss]

​@@Panicscroll69your phone and lot of gadget probably make by them. They dont care if its low quality as long they get rich

[@badart3204]

I mean if you believe their reports sure. Roman’s also claimed to be fighting hundreds of thousands of people as well which is unlikely

[@vasheed]

Sounds dubious, estimates on the Roman army were upwards 500k. We're literally talking about death tolls of 60k at battles like Canae.

[@lolasdm6959]

@@Panicscroll69 Ha, say what you want, but Chinese armies were armed and train in manners which would not be replicated in Europe for centuries to come. I don't see Europeans ever replicating javelin, shield and sword or the maniples. But instead used pikes, helberds and crossbows, with mixed formations, and eventually adopting state reforms to allow mass mobilization. Moreover the first professional army in Europe post Roman collapse, the gendarmerie are organized in units of 5, which is similar to the Chinese smallest unit of 5 in a "wu".

[@gabriellin1352]

To clarify here to the general audience/viewers. The Romance Of The Three Kingdoms (The Warring States of Three Kingdoms era/period) did not started with this 3 kingdoms. There were at least a dozen more kingdoms to begin with, it’s just that eventually the ultimate trio remained/survived/left to balance out the power and territory in middle earth. This 3 kingdoms era/period was already like the 3rd installment of the trilogy movie franchise. Hope the public gets a glimpse of the picture here.

[@lukaima5147]

To add up to you, actually, those a dozen more kingdoms are not real "kingdoms", they could be described as warlords but they all hold official positions, and titles given by the Han Dynasty (or claimed to be). Until 220AD Cao Pi replaced Han Dynasty as the new emperor, it could be described as the beginning of the Wei Dynasty. And after that Liu Bei and Sun Quan claimed themselves all are official emperors of China.

[@lukaima5147]

For example during the earlier stages, even in the battle of Red Cliff, Cao Cao was Si Kong of Han Dynasty, a position bit close to the prime minister. And Liu Bei was officially the General Left of Han Dynasty. Sun Quan was holding an even lower position. That's why Cao Cao could use the Han Emperor as puppet and claimed Liu Bei and Sun Quan were "open rebellion".

[@gabriellin1352]

@@lukaima5147 well said. Hope the public learn and know more about this stuff😎

[@vitorpereira9515]

I love the three kingdoms period. Cao Cao in reality was more likeable than his romance countepart. He was such a good administrator that among the three kingdoms Wei was the most stable and strongest. Sima Yi descendants unified China thanks to Cao Cao.

[@shinsenshogun900]

This comment has plenty of poetic irony here

[@BlamBird]

The Sima family usurped the kingdom that the Cao family established with the Sima’s guidance. They definitely needed each other to make the Sima’s Jin Dynasty happen.

[@vitorpereira9515]

@@BlamBird Cao Cao never trusted completely in Sima Yi, he knew how ambitious he was and although he was useful he kept him at arm's length. Cao Pi followed his father's advice and kept him in check. His sucessors unfortunately understimated the old man.

[@kongming66]

​@@vitorpereira9515 Yeah, there's a lot of irony in this whole thread. Starting with Cao Cao being "more likeable," which is subjective. To a casual Western reader learning about his exploits thru a historical lens, sure he's a lot more appreciable than what Mao Zhangong's version. To a Chinese city-dweller living in the central plains or northern Jing as the Han dynasty collapsed, you'd think he was the spawn of Hell. The irony of all of the cycles of reevaluation of ROT3K is that it still ends up in a half-closed loop. Cao Wei forces generally were forgiving to nobles and officials who surrendered, and genocidal towards peasants and commoners for the slightest hint of resistance even if they had no choice. Liu Bei backstabbed and brutalized nobles and officials - including his own clan - but actually had a following among the lower classes ostensibly because of genuine altruism he showed to them. The only character who was really screwed over by Chen, Luo and Mao in their retellings was Sun Jian, who was every bit the hero of the Yellow Turban Rebellions and siege of Hu Lato Gate. Less so for his sons, since Sun Ce hired quite a few former pirates and Quan was effectively an independent warlord who worked towards his own goals. Point is, ironically there were some valid historical reasons why they assigned the roles they did to each kingdom and its founder, including Sima Yi, since Western Jin is reviled in Chinese history for the rampant fraticide and laying out the red carpet for the nomadic hordes

[@vitorpereira9515]

@@kongming66 Ah shut up Zhuge Liang! And we both know that Red Cliff was Zhou Yu magnum opus, not yours.

[@heskrthmatt]

3:46 Pretty hilarious Lu Bu would call someone else treacherous.

[@Abigdummy4life]

Let's be fair, Lü Bu ESPECIALLY irl AND outside of Dynasty Warriors is basically an overpowered Oblivion NPC XD

[@spastado]

If you watch the tv series and read other stories, there are many other tactics and strategies that cao cao used. When facing off with Liu Bei early on, he used his raw recruits to assault the walls and let them rout in disarray to create a disorganised illusion of his army. But laid an ambush outside the city when the defenders sallied out to chase. He is cunning and ruthless to spend the lives of men to get the objective. And he also used the correct type of troops to fit the bill because no one would fall for it if he used the crack troops to assault the walls

[@MKfanmomo]

I simply love the Three Kingdoms so much, this content brought a smile to my face.

[@ColdSceptical36]

You are one of the best KZbin channels who tell us about history. I would like you to make a series on mughals because the way you present history is just undoubtedly amazing.

[@johnfekete3623]

Just imagine a badass collaboration involving Epic History Tv, Kings & Generals, History Marche & House Of History like omg hoping one day 😁🤞🏼

[@ReviveHF]

Basically, the Chinese armies during this time period undergoing the same changes as the Roman counterparts. Cavalry plays a much bigger role and Infantry adopted the more protective equipment of the cavalry. Instead of vast numbers of troops covered vast distances of the Empire, "Mobile field armies" combined with cunning tactics are favoured in late Eastern Han Era/Three Kingdoms Era. You could argue that historically, Aurelian, Stilicho, Aetius and Majorian relied more on deception to win battles.

[@Puget55]

The problem is that "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a book wrote more than a thousand years after the period it make Zhuge Liang Kongming appear as way more powerful and talented than he was. According to "the chroniques of the three kingdoms" which is an accurate historical chronique writed by the Hans officials during this period, the real deal was Zhou Yu Gongjin, the stratego of Wu, he is the carftmen behind Chi Bi, the red cliff and the only one who is better than Cao Cao Mengde.

[@kuronoch.1441]

Thing is, the historian writing the Records, Chen Shou, had a huge bias towards Jin and Shu (where he had served earlier), but had a huge bias against Zhuge Liang, since he probably had his father Chen Ji executed.

[@MysticChronicles712]

The depth of research and the clarity of presentation make this video a valuable resource for anyone interested in ancient warfare and strategy. Kudos to the creators for shedding light on this pivotal period in Chinese history!

[@user-vo1uc3bh7t]

Fantastic episode! The content was incredibly rich and unique, and I really appreciated the artistic flair of the video. Keep producing such amazing content, Kings and Generals!😃

[@mfshro0m]

Great video! Would love to see more on Chinese military history like how equipment, army composition and tactics evolved over the centuries

[@GarrettPetersen]

Glad to see content about this! I'm 3/4 of the way through the novel.

[@patrickdegenaar9495]

Good summary! The Romance of the Three kingdoms is epic! Well worth the read or listen to the podcast

[@Snarkison]

This was a great video, please do at least a part 2!

[@sirunklydunk8861]

This documentary reminds me of Total War: Three Kingdoms and now I'm sad

[@kevinzhu6417]

I was really looking forward to the Northern Expansion, I had all the DLC and they just pulled the plug out of nowhere for a sequel they reportedly canceled smh

[@mcrhombas3743]

I loved that game and idk why they stopped working on it. Maybe 3 Kingdoms 2 will expand into Korea and even further north to the tribes? Idk I'll take whatever they wanna make cause Three Kingdoms was so good

[@DomainExpansion95]

True. CA really need to change their total war game. They can follow so many examples of other games and integrate those in their total war game. Nobunaga ambition series and EU4 integrated into total war will be epic game

[@mcrhombas3743]

@@DomainExpansion95 yeah agreed

[@anonymousanonymous7250]

Finally this series is back.

[@17Watman]

I’d like to see a few videos on the Warring States Period. (Yes I have been reading Kingdom Manga)

[@oneshotme]

I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@Joseph-sj9uf]

Thanks for this video! For a few years now, I been trying to find more resources on ancient chinese doctrine and how it might affect modern PLA doctrine

[@johnmwan8980]

Thank you for this!! One of the greatest era of Old China ❤

[@MrSinclairn]

The 'Borrowing Arrows' sequence is portrayed very well in the John Woo's historical action films 'Red Cliff/Red Cliff II' ! 👌👍

[@RelixasVlogsandGameClips]

pressed like because dynasty warriors and romance of the 3 kingdoms.

[@anicitra5927]

Also Dynasty Tactics : in an alternate story you can recruit Lu Bu as one of the strongest general/officer (at the cost of losing one of Cao Cao's strategist Guo Jia). And recruit Gongsun Zan to make Zhao Yun joined Wei.

[@josenathanieltendencia245]

Same feeling.

[@carloschu7127]

Console games, PC games, webpage games, Online games, apps games, and endless versions of Romance of Three Kingdoms.

[@ArtemysNyx]

damn this channel avoids the three kingdoms like the plague but then this drops! sweet!

[@nightsplurge810]

More three kingdoms again! Yay!

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video 👍🏻

[@TathagataD10S]

Please make a video on Java War and Diponegoro. There are not much English content available on the topic on KZbin.

[@HistoryHaty]

Thanks Kings and Generals for this great video on ancient Chinese strategy. Parts had me laughing at how funny and clever these tactics were. I Also enjoy your World War II stuff manly the Pacific War series and the North African series, but can you do some World War I.❤👍👍🫡🫡🫡🫡

[@richardthomas9497]

Strange, I was recently rewatching the old Three Kingdoms videos.

[@janlindtner305]

More of that please👍👍👍

[@franciscojorgesousaandrade]

The era of the 3 kingdoms really is fascinating and full of stories, taking advantage of this, I could talk about guan yu and how the cult of his personality began and also talk about the period from spring and autumn to the warring kingdoms.

[@shinsenshogun900]

The Fall of the Han is where peak Chinese history is at

[@user-lf4yo4re4b]

​@@shinsenshogun900还有个唐呢

[@joshh3304]

We must remember that the Romance was wrriten over a thousand years later, by a court official not a soldier. The empty fort tactics described could easily be unravelled by sending a small calvary scout force (thats their purpose!). Likewise for the "borrowing arrows", which commander would deplete his arrows firing into an unseen enemy who doesnt return a single shot (if they dont shoot back then they are not in range and we are wasting arrows).

[@andrewsuryali8540]

Both stratagems were real and they really worked. They just weren't executed in the same way and not in the 3K. The empty city stratagem actually happened several times and in most cases worked by sheer luck. As you said, the easy way to beat it was to send in a cavalry force. The one that matched best the story in Romance is something that happened in the An Lushan rebellion when a Tang general opened the gates of his city and sat on top of the ramparts playing a lute. He did this because he knew that An Lushan himself was leading the rebel force heading towards him. Both men had served the empire together for a long time and knew each other well, so when An showed up, he found the guy who he knew to be one of the empire's most loyal generals sitting up there offering up his city to the rebels. An Lushan rode up to the general, held a brief conversation, was convinced by his old friend's seeming congeniality that the whole damn thing was a giant trap, and pulled his forces back. The city took the window presented by this retreat to fortify itself, then held off the enraged An Lushan's rebel force for a very long time. While the city technically won the siege eventually (An Lushan left the siege to pursue more important matters, got himself killed, and the rebellion fizzled under his usurper Shi Siming), they lost most of their population through starvation. The borrowing arrows stratagem was something that happened in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era. A minor warlord did this over several nights to steal arrows from his opponent. In his case, he initiated the arrow exchange by launching first. The enemy commander was apparently a firm believer in the dakka strategy and kept his men shooting even when no arrows were being shot back. However, the purpose of the real-life stratagem wasn't to steal enemy arrows but to lure them into depleting their arrows before the real attack. Most of the arrows fell into the river, after all. Those caught in the straw men were just a bonus. Presumably some of those were then used the following nights to reinitiate the arrow exchanges.

[@joshh3304]

@andrewsuryali8540 thanks for sharing! Nice to read how real life actually works, more exciting I feel than make up tactics

[@nocturnalforsaken4519]

much more china history can be a content thanks for the video

[@gohmingxiu9527]

Wished you included Huang Gai's feigned defect after being "beat up" by Zhou Yu (yeah its perfect meme material, of a guy "beating up" another guy)

[@xiphoid2011]

what's not mentioned in the video is "三十六计，走为上计“。Translates to "of the 36 stratagems, go away/flee is the highest strategy". It means, when you have no ability to defeat the enemy, run away is the best/only option. Of course, you can't make a video out of this stratagem. :)

[@thehellyousay]

lu bu: "cao cao is treacherous, and we must not fall into his trap." *proceeds, testicles first, into a woodchipper*

[@AmandaFessler]

The Thumbnail: Three Kingdoms Stratagems Me: I wonder if they used a "Dragon" Airstrike or Orbital Bombardment. The Video: Really great stratagems. Learning about Diaochan was fascinating, in particular.

[@bhchen3079]

周瑜 (Zhou Yu)，曹操(Cao Cao) ，诸葛亮(Zhuge Liang)，司马懿 (Sima Yi) were all known for their knowledge in military strategy. In that period , there were also many other strategists that are not widely known by the casual audience such as 荀彧(Xun Yu) and many others

[@kaijudirector5336]

Dear Kings and Generals, Please do a series on the Sixteen Kingdoms. Sincerely, a concerned Chinese history fan.

[@donpedro9004]

The first and second battles of Hefei still remain my favorites. During the first battle, Cao Cao's forces, after their defeat the Red Cliffs and at Nanjun, pulled back towards Yang Province, which was split in half by both Cao Cao and Sun Quan and hotly contested. Sun Quan brought a larger force but was defeated in the opening skirmish by Cao Cao's forces. When Sun Quan's forces slipped a spy into the enemy camp to sow chaos, the conspiracy was instantly crushed by Zhang Liao. After interrogating and executing the spies, Zhang Liao intentionally ordered for the watch tower's brazier to be lit and for the front gates to be opened. Sun Quan's top general took his men and charged into the camp where they were destroyed by a hail of arrows almost immediately. Following the exchange of the southern cities of the fertile and strategic Jing province from Liu Bei to Sun Quan, the pair launched a simultaneous attack north with Liu Bei attacking the newly-conquered Hanzhong region west and Sun Quan attacking Hefei to the east. To make sure that there would not be attrition, Sun Quan's forces took the nearby county of Wan which held a significant amount of supplies for Cao Cao's troops in the province before sieging Hefei. In response, Zhang Liao split his significantly smaller army between himself and co-commanders, Yue Jin and Li Dian. When Sun Quan's vanguard arrived, Yue Jin provoked them into heading straight for Hefei while Li Dian destroyed the bridges that Sun Quan's forces used only after Sun Quan's regiment crosses the ford. After allowing Sun Quan to move further deeper, Zhang Liao launches the ambush with Li Dian from behind on Sun Quan's isolated forces. With the vanguard too far out to arrive in time, Sun Quan manages to miraculously vault over the destroyed bridge, but his remaining men are decimated as they've been cut off from each other. When the vanguard learns that their lord is in danger, they try to turn back, but Yue Jin exits Hefei and routs them instead. The irl doesn't even shy too far back either as Zhang Liao leading 800 men with help from Li Dian charged straight into the Wu camp when they were ready to siege Hefei. Several officers and soldiers by this sudden assault. When Sun Quan finally managed to encircle Zhang's forces, the general punched his way out. Before returning Zhang Liao learned that some men were still trapped inside the encirclement, so he proceeds to reenter the encirclement before punching a second hole out to rescue the stranded men. Sun Quan would not be able to take the city after this crushing skirmish, and Zhang Liao held out until a plague forced the Wu forces back. It would be at this time that the three commanders of Cao Cao's forces would burst out of the castle while Sun Quan's unit was about to retreat after everyone else that they would nearly slay the enemy commander before he vaulted over the destroyed bridge.

[@jamesdavies5386]

Great video!

[@luanasari5161]

Zhuge Liang out here playing 4d chess 💀

[@nathantallar8967]

Wish CA would continue Three Kingdoms

[@falcao1984]

To add salt to the borrowed arrows episode, Zhuge Liang made everyone shout "Thank you Prime-Minister Cao for the arrows!"

[@cavemann_]

Time to test my knowledge from watching a bunch of Total War: Three Kingdoms playthroughs, having done several playthroughs myself, and having watched several documentaries on that period.

[@keystringcomposer8038]

Can we get some videos on the conquest of China by the Qin? I've been watching the Kingdom anime and I'd love to learn more about what REALLY happened and what's fiction

[@solidraven6986]

Hell yeah new 3k vids

[@Sephiroth144]

Oooooh... we're getting into the San Guo? YEEEEEEESSSSSSS

[@jonbaxter2254]

"Kings and generals are only human" Ah! He said the thing!

[@steveogle8942]

Zhuge Liang was also know by his courtesy name Kongming. He was also the inventor of the Chinese lantern by the same name.

[@jameszhou162]

Zhu Ge Liang did not trick Sima Yi but he knows Sima Yi’s biggest enemy is not Shu Empire but Cao Family which was viewing Sima family as a major threat especially if Sima defeats Shu empire. 兔死狗烹，鸟尽弓藏。 Sima Yi was not just a military strategist but also a shrewd politician who understands the bigger picture and Zhu Ge also knew. So a grand Strategen of plot within a plot

[@plainboba]

“Down down, left left left” - Zhuge Liang

[@AmandaFessler]

Based and Freedompilled.

[@user_of_Tube]

well done animated

[@syphernynx4186]

Total war three kingdoms, romance of the three kingdoms history, kings & generals content, what a trio

[@nicholaswilson8695]

Oh man yess classic 3 kingdom era history love this era of china 2000 years ago now I believe

[@alaga2007oke]

A nice video on 3 kindgoms ...

[@Mr808pocho]

Nah that arrow collection was just 🤯

[@Slavador2393]

This is my favorite era in Chinese history; the romance of the three kingdoms

[@glen7k621]

You guys have to try Total War Three Kingdoms!! It has incredible overhauls, as well as skin and character mods (if you're a fan of 3 Kingdoms).

[@Zephyriia]

So I’m coming back after a while away from Kings and Generals. Compared to 2 years ago, how much more accurate and better is this channel in y’all opinion? I found his pronunciations wayyy better ❤

[@frederikbeckers8923]

Pls more videos about the ancient china and korea

[@northwall9243]

The Zhuge Liang story feels almost identical to the one where Tokugawa Ieyasu used the emptyf ort tactic during his retreat in the Battle of Mikatagahara.

[@thingsarecool887]

Make a series for all of 36 stratagem

[@Humayerzidan]

we want more videos on three kingdom

[@user-vo6iz7gh2f]

So bassicaly, this Cao Cao got served his own medicine. Irony.😅😅😅

[@ftd7435]

At 6.38, Zhuge Liang was never in the castle playing the guzheng musical instrument. He was leading the army somewhere else. The writer of The Three Kingdoms "changed" the story to romanticize history but Sima Yi was conned into believing it was an ambush and retreated. Years later, Sima Yi lamented it as the 'greatest humiliation' in his entire life.

[@jamuojisan]

The 36 Strategems provide more historical accurate examples than those we can find in the romance of 3 kingdoms.

[@FlamosSnow]

Can you please do the final battle from Dune 2. Please

[@playerciti]

i hear three kingdom and my nostalgie of dynasty warriors apears ❤

[@hokyinchong3443]

wow im early amazing video

[@cans597]

Great video however you should've delved a little on Han Xin tactics, he was the most impressive in Ancient China (at least from the Shiji records that we have access to) There’s to bad that detailed Battle records of Bai Qi and Li Mu were lost due to Xiang Yu actions.

[@cvb596]

here I was, hoping this was a partnership to announce a new Total War Three Kingdoms version :)

[@jemfalor]

you do know the art of war and strategems and guiguzi were used more extensively during the spring and autumn and warring states period, right?

[@lordkent8143]

Another theory for Sima Yi falling for Zhuge Liang's empty fort strategy wasnt because he was cautious of Zhuge Liangs ambush but he was more concern of what will happen if he did capture Zhuge Liang if it wasnt an ambush? What will happen to Sima Yi in the Cao court? They will surely get rid of him after his use against Zhuge Liang was no longer needed. Sima Yi was thinking long term.

[@Xaviar_St.Thomas]

Well done

[@harrystark940]

I want to see more videos of 21st century conflict

[@brad5907]

On the go game mentionnened displayed at the beginning of the video, whoever plays next should play 2x2 at the upper left corner (and probably win the game). Btw, the real go is 19x19 not 13x13.

[@steveogle8942]

Red Cliff is one of the greatest movies of all time. You have to watch the full-length version and not the shorter one.

[@ryanconstantinechong4346]

I think the better question would be: If the Chinese of the classical era were to fight the Romans, who would win?

[@thebiologist8662]

Summary of the video: Ancient Chinese were extremely paranoid but lacked the concept of scouting.

[@zehechen920]

Chinas military would colonise your country in days😂😂😂😂

[@user-jx7wc6bh5h]

在古代，中国有一个称呼叫做探子的人员就是专门负责这个工作的

[@thatnobodyrod]

I feel like I'm listening to a story from the Dynasty Warriors games haha!! OG hack and slash lets goooo!!!

[@giod6266]

Very cool!

[@buddhatwig7846]

History 三国志and legends 三国演义are a giant mesh for 3 kingdoms period, where legends usually prevailed.

[@alis1079]

8:51 fire was not discovered yet!

[@wroughtiron6031]

Im so happy that ma boi zhao yun was finally mentioned

[@tarjeiaksnes5418]

Saw this video just as I left a poorly defended castle I suspected of being bait for an ambush. I now realize that I was fooled. Thanks kings and generals for allowing me to vanquish my enemies

[@gh0rochi363]

Please do more 3k era videos

[@MichaelSmith-ij2ut]

As someone who turns tricks for a living, the Three Kingdoms period as always appealed to me